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Day: 6 October 2014

Live: Reading Festival

Written by George Scrafton on . Posted in Music.

22 – 24 August

6/10

“You’re a fucking great crowd, Reading,” Alex Turner slurs, reciprocating the appreciation of the crowd amassed in front of the main stage. Arctic Monkeys’ Saturday headlining set is a moment of real but ultimately standalone clarity. They are a band whose renaissance is spurred by their commercially palatable and hugely listenable AM and at Reading, they perform to their ideal demographic of teenage revelers, many of whom will be kindling their first experiences with live alternative music. Moments of such cohesion and timeliness are, however, in disappointingly short supply over the course of the weekend.

On Friday, the likes of Temples and Palma Violets once again draw fans ready to be enthralled by guitar music and experience the “RIP Rock Music” hyperbole fade to a distant whisper amidst the frenetic intensity of ‘Best of Friends’ rousing chorus. Worryingly amiss, however, is the inventiveness and fresh originality that drove independent rock music’s resurgence in the early 2000’s, leading one to question even the vague possibility of a band such as, say, Peace one day headlining the stage they occupy on Saturday afternoon. On the main stage heavy rock veterans Queens of the Stone Age are elevated to co-headline status, and although they may not draw the same footfall as Artcic Monkeys or Blink-182 during the following nights, they in fact deliver by far the most impressive headlining set of the weekend. Performing cuts from their superb Songs For The Deaf, Queens of the Stone Age circa. 2002 sounds as fresh in a field in 2014 as it did over a decade ago.

Reading’s superficial diversity, which sees Duke Dumont and Gorgon City able to attract massive numbers into tents, before passing the baton to nuanced alternative bands such as The Horrors, is unfortunately as much the weekend’s undoing as it is its making. As dance music looks set to be elevated to ever greater heights in Reading’s previously uncharted territory, it’s hard not to feel that Blink-182 and Papa Roach’s nostalgia-driven Sunday main stage slots are merely jarring hangovers from an era that the festival soon needs to shed in order to retain an engaging and relevant theme. As Jungle’s sounds falls flat in the NME Tent and Flume brings an energized end to proceedings in the dance tent my main impression is of disappointment at not having apparently participated in a festival per se but more a hastily compiled range of artists for exhibition to an audience not wholly understood.

Reading, in small doses, manages to supply the thrills that its high face value and repute demands, and whilst the diversity of the acts on display is to be lauded, it should never be a substitution for the big-name acts that a big-name brand such as Reading demands, nor for what was missing from The Kooks’ bland advert fodder in the NME tent, actual substance.

King of the Jungle!

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in News.

After the success of Pangaea’s ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ last month, The Mancunion launched its first ever fancy dress competition in partnership with the Students’ Union to find our Pangaea King or Queen.

We took hundreds of pictures of costumes throughout the evening, put together a list of the ten best outfits of the night, and asked readers to vote for their favourite online.

Voting closed on Thursday, and we have since counted up the votes and can reveal that the winner of Pangaea’s fancy dress competition is: ‘Shaman’ AKA Oli Cutter with over 25% of the vote.

Oli has won two guest-list tickets for Pangaea’s next event in January, details of which will be revealed closer to the time so stay posted!

Our runners up were:

Second place: Flower, AKA Amy Howard

Third place: Ooga Booga, AKA mystery Crash Bandicoot fan

Fourth place: Crocodile Dundee AKA Abid Khan

All the photographs we took during the evening can be seen on The Mancunion‘s Facebook page, as well as photos of the winners and the runners up.

Veg of the Week: The Humble Sweet Potato

Written by Elena Gibbs on . Posted in Food & Drink.

1. Spicy & Sweet Wedges.

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

-Sweet potatoes (obviously). Allow one large per person.

-Sprinkling of salt

-Lashing of oil

-Rosemary

-Paprika

Directions: Preheat the oven to 200C, drizzle around 1 tablespoon of oil per potato into a roasting tin and let heat up while you slice the potatoes into wedges. Toss into the pan and sprinkle with herbs, spices and seasoning. Roast for around 25 mins until lightly browned and soft when pressed with a fork. Experiment with spice combinations and enjoy with mayo or as a healthy side dish.

2. Creamy Thai Satay Soup.

Difficulty: Easy, but you’ll need a few more slightly fancy ingredients and a blender.

Ingredients:

-Sweet potatoes again. 2 large ones should make about 6 servings.

-knob of butter/glug of oil

-3 tbsp Thai red curry paste

-1 1/2 tbsp peanut butter

-Can of coconut milk (very cheap in Curry Mile shops, avoid expensive brand name supermarket stuff)/cream of coconut & hot water also works well

-1 onion

-1 tsp minced garlic

-Nutmeg & paprika – use according to taste

-1 vegetable stock cube dissolved in 500ml hot water

-handful of chopped coriander (worth buying a plant if you have space on a windowsill, they’re normally a pound or less)

Directions: Oven to 200C, chop and roast the sweet potatoes in oil/butter, sprinkle with the spices. While waiting, finely chop the onion and fry in a saucepan on low, adding in the garlic and curry paste when the onions have softened. Add the roasted sweet potatoes to the pan and cover with the stock and can of coconut milk, bring to the boil then simmer as you plug in the liquidiser/blender, or chop the coriander. Add all ingredients (don’t forget the peanut butter) except fresh coriander to the blender until smooth. If you don’t have a blender this soup is still delicious, and if you want a smooth consistency you could roast the potato whole, mash the insides and then add it to the onion mix. Top with a spoonful of natural yoghurt and sprinkle with coriander. Warning: This is DELICIOUS, you will probably struggle to restrain yourself from drinking the entire thing from the saucepan. It tastes like a soup version of satay dipping sauce. And it’s healthy!

3. Sweet Potato and Tangy Coriander Chickpea Salad.

Difficulty: Easy.

Ingredients:

-Sweet potatoes, 1 large per person. (Notice a theme here?)

-4 spring onions per person

-1/2 tin of chickpeas, drained

-sprig of celery, finely chopped

-juice and zest of 1/2 lemon (fresh is better)

-2 tbsps balsamic vinegar

-1stp oil

-1/4 grated nutmeg (or 1/2 tsp ground)

-1/2 tsp chilli powder

-salt & black pepper

-handful of chopped coriander

Directions: You know the drill—roast those orange veggies (200C, 25 mins, toss in spices & oil). In the meantime, mix chickpeas with all of the other ingredients apart from  spring onions—char them with the potatoes 5 mins before they’re done. The end. That’s it. Really, so easy! This would be delicious served with a piece of white fish or bulked out with lettuce leaves and roasted peppers, experiment!

All three of these recipes contain similar ingredients which means that you can eat sweet potato all week, not get bored and not waste any food. YAY. Please let us know if you try these out, and post any alternative ideas in the comments below!

 

 

Review: North Tea Power

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Having spent Saturday morning wandering aimlessly around town, accomplishing only a haircut, we traipsed into North Tea Power feeling very sorry for ourselves: hungry, thirsty and undeservedly fatigued. The café, conveniently nestled between ‘WOOD. Wine & Deli’ and ‘Simple’, offers something a little more casual and speedy than its neighbours. It isn’t the most obvious of places; a monochrome hanging sign ushers you up a few stairs onto a kind of raised deck where you see the shop front along with covered outdoor seating. I’m sure this is an excellent option in Manchester’s warm season, but as we had missed that miniscule window we opted for an indoor experience.

The interior of North Tea Power is unobtrusive and inviting. Upon entering, you are met by a vast glass cabinet containing sandwiches, cakes and other fresh produce. Behind this, the extensive tea and coffee menus plaster the wall, confirmed by shelves crammed with jars of loose teas, coffee compressors and books. Pared down furniture features all round. We spotted an empty table in a lamp-lit corner and made a beeline for it.

After nursing our feet for a few minutes, we headed up to the counter to check out the menu. I was impressed by the array of teas on offer, although logically it shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering the name of the place. I figured that they must be doing something right tea-wise to declare their prowess in this way, so out of curiosity I opted for a ‘Popcorn’ tea—a green tea mixed with toasted brown rice—which I was assured lived up to its name (again). My companion was a little less adventurous and went for an Americano, although upon further research I gather that North Tea Power is highly esteemed for its coffee as well. Both were up to scratch; mine was warm and energising with a nutty punch which reminded me of the cinema and the coffee was rich and velvety.

While at the counter we had ordered our food. I chose the frittata; freshly made daily and piled up high in thickly sliced wedges, it came warmed and served with generous helpings of both potato and bean salads. The frittata itself was well seasoned, with tender chunks of courgette, pepper and onion throughout. The beans were well dressed. But the real winner was the potato salad. Mayonnaise was unconventionally absent, instead replaced by a sweet and sharp citrusy vinaigrette which was nothing short of delightful. My companion ordered French toast; jammed with ham and Emmental cheese, and steeped in honey with a sprinkling of walnuts, it looked indulgent and potentially challenging. The first few bites were enjoyed, but the stodgy texture and overriding sweetness made the meal difficult to finish. No hard feelings to you guys at North Tea Power though; the customer in question is a bit of an idiot, ordering something covered in sugar whilst not having much of a sweet tooth.

Amongst the thriving network of bars, restaurants and tearooms which make up the Northern Quarter, North Tea Power makes a nice addition for those with a hankering for a good hot drink and something nice to nibble. Thirsts quenched and stomachs silenced, we watched the world go by before finally mustering the courage to get up and toddle home.

North Tea Power,
36 Tib St,
Manchester
M4 1LA.

Visit http://northteapower.co.uk/ for more information or follow at twitter.com/northteapower.

My Literary Hero: Hubert Selby Jr

Written by Alister Pearson on . Posted in Books.

The aspect of Hubert Selby Jr. that I most appreciate is that he was not destined to be a writer, and did not expect to live for long after his diagnosis of advanced tuberculosis in 1947—he was predicted by doctors to only live for one year, and for this reason his 1964 novel Last Exit to Brooklyn is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read.

There is one thing about Selby’s writing in The Last Exit to Brooklyn that should be pointed out: he doesnt use proper grammar or punctuation as Ive tried to illustrate here. His work is similar to that of Jack Kerouac/s in the sense that it has a fast, stream-of-consciousness style. I think it works well with what he tried to set out and create a vividly real portrait of 1950s New York. Annuva characteristic of Selby/s writing is that he will incorporate words joined together like ta getthehell out and yuhgoddamn yankee and he never uses speech marks although much of the novel is of characters speaking to one another and you may think this would be difficult to read but you sorta just get the hangofit and then you dont even notice that the sentence youre reading has been goin on for pages and pages but when you do start to notice the tension builds up like in the story Tralala the ending is just one long sentence that stretches out for pages and pages but you find yaself reading it faster and faster as it gets more and more intense as a fifteen-year-old girl is gang raped by fifty plus men for you see Selby/s work is some of the most graphic pieces of work you will read and he doesnt hold back with the language or the imagery with stories about transvestites or queens as he calls them and hard drug abuse and gangs beating tha crap outta people because Selby wants to portray the real side of Brooklyn in those times much like Lou Reed did in his music making it no surprise that Selby/s book was a big inspiration for him but I personally think Selby had little choice but to write like he did in this book as he had no qualifications and was quite unwell due to the tuberculosis making any job he could get extremely difficult so writing was a last resort for him but he was spurred on by the fact that he knew he was living a finite life and he didnt wantto look back on it and regret it and I hope he did look back on his life and feel proud cause Last Exit to Brooklyn was such a fascinating portrayal of a New York to read that not many know about and although it is brutal, it is not the case that Selby has no sympathy for his characters as there are moments when the reader feels great sympathy like when Georgette gets beat up by her brother for dressing in drag or when Harry loses his job at the union and thus, in my opinion, Selby earns the right to be mentioned alongside the great Beat writers like Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsberg who actually praised the book but unfortunately this didnt stop the book from being temporarily banned in Great Britain and Italy due to its extremely graphic images but after help from Anthony Burgess who suffered similar problems with his novel Clockwork Orange the decision was reversed.

********************************************************************************

Selby wrote many more books until his death in 2006, most notably Requiem For A Dream, which was made into a film starring Jared Leto in 2000. However, it is Last Exit to Brooklyn that stands out for me as one of the best books written in the 20th Century if only for the fact that it dares to depict a sinisterly real New York.

 

Watch out! Fifa fail ethically yet again

Written by Liam Kelly on . Posted in Sport.

Prior to his re-election in 2011, in the wake of corruption and sleaze scandals, Fifa president Sepp Blatter pledged that this, his fourth term in office, would be his last.

However, during this month’s Soccerex conference held in Manchester, Blatter announced his intention to stand for a fifth consecutive term in 2015. What is most extraordinary about this is that he is a shoo-in to win.

During his time in office, Blatter has handed the 2022 World Cup to the awfully unsuitable Qatar; claimed that more people would watch women’s football if players wore “tighter shorts and low cut shirts”; and suggested that gay fans travelling to Qatar “refrain from any sexual activities.”

Despite this track record, which would make even the most farcical leader blush, there are no major candidates lining up to succeed Blatter as the head of world football’s governing body. The only contender to put himself forward is Frenchman Jerome Champagne.

The ethical record of Fifa under Blatter has continued its fine form recently, as last week it emerged that the Brazilian FA had given out gift watches worth £16400 to senior Fifa officials as well as representatives from the national associations of the 32 teams at this summer’s World Cup.

Fifa’s ethics committee has demanded that the Parmigiani watches be returned, including one given to FA Chairman Greg Dyke, by 24 October as the value of the watches breached its rules on gifts. This demand came four months after the watches were given out, and has only happened since a leading British newspaper broke the story.

What is astonishing is the fact that Fifa secretary general, Jerome Valcke, had wanted to give an additional two watches from a sponsor to every member of the Executive Committee of the governing body. The ethics committee prevented this from happening, but the fact that such a prominent figure seemed so completely unaware of Fifa’s own ethics guidelines underlines what a crooked and out-of-touch organisation it is.

It is this sort of endemic corruption prevalent at Fifa that has eroded the legitimacy and esteem in which it is held. Unfortunately, unless Blatter somehow loses next year’s presidential election, more of the same is sure to follow for the next four years.

In a demonstration that Fifa is not a totally rotten organisation, Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger claimed that the World Cup “will not take place in Qatar.” The German cited the 50-degree summertime temperatures in the Gulf state as the reason why it is not feasible to host a major sporting event there, endangering the health of players and fans alike.

This is something that was widely known throughout the bidding process though, and should have been taken into account when deciding on the bids for the 2022 tournament.

Other members of the ExCo have subsequently stated that Zwanziger was merely expressing a “personal opinion”, and that Qatar will not be stripped of hosting rights. This is despite 1200 workers losing their lives in some of the worst working conditions in the world.

Despite Zwanziger’s musing, it is unlikely that Qatar will be stripped of the World Cup at this point, as he appears a lone critical voice in the committee of 24. The corruption allegations levelled by the English and Australian bid teams would be the only way to prevent Qatar hosting in 2022, but even this appears doubtful.

American lawyer Michael Garcia has concluded his report into the 2018 and 2022 bidding processes, but no names will be named and the findings of his 200000 page report will not be made public.

The watch affair is the latest in a long line of corruption scandals dogging Fifa, but with Blatter due to stay as president for a further four years, we should get used to more of the same.